One Mom's Adventures in Education and Aviation

05/13/2012

Her Daddy's Mohawk

Our mechanic was in the Army long before we met. That's where he had his first hands on training with aircraft. He was a crew chief for the Grumman OV-1 Mohawk. If your not familiar with this slightly awkward looking plane, it was used for photo observation and electronic reconnaissance. Created to meet requirements of the Army Equipment Development Guide of 1954, it was the first turboprop plane to be used by the US Army. They took their first flight in April of 1959 and continued to fly missions until 1996. They were used in Vietnam and during Operation Desert Storm as well as peace time missions around the world. Currently they are being flown by Argentine Army Aviation. At a recent airshow we were able to see this one. After checking the numbers, we found out it was one our mechanic had worked on while in the service.

{Mohawk's have a very recogniseable silloette}

{It's great to have an expert give you the tour}

{Talking about hydraulics}

{Checking out the de-icer system on the wing}

{A peak in the cockpit. The man beside them was a Mohawk test pilot.}

{Two of my mechanic's favorite things}

They spent about an hour covering every inch of that airplane. Between the pilot we met and our mechanic, every possible question my future pilot had was answered. The best part was seeing our baby got hands on time with part of her daddy's history. She had seen the pictures and heard the stories, but I think being able to walk around it and touch each part as it was explained created memories that will stick forever.